


Little Wars

by Lamachine



Category: Warehouse 13
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-14
Updated: 2012-12-14
Packaged: 2017-11-21 03:44:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/593061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lamachine/pseuds/Lamachine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spoilers up to season's four midseason finale.</p>
<p>Strange noises distract Myka from her reading, night after night. She decides to investigate. Light, fun fic. A bit of fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Wars

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place months after Leena's death. H.G. is also back as a Warehouse agent, living at the B&B with the rest of them.

The first night, Myka was reading _Orlando_ , a cup of chamomile tea by her side and a blanket over her bent-up legs. Her mind had just settled in the comfort of the moment; the silence that reigned over the bed and breakfast accompanied Woolf’s words like a charm. She allowed a soft sigh to leave her lips as she took pleasure in the feeling of finally being home again.

She was about to turn to page 84 when she heard the door across of her room opening and closing. She wouldn’t have thought about it twice if it hadn’t been that the sound was followed by short whispers. The brunette could not identify who exactly was talking or the subject of the conversation, but she started to wonder what was going on.

A few minutes went on, and no new noises came from the corridor. Myka decidedly returned to her book, her eyes thoroughly scanning the page to find where she had stopped. Unable to grasp what the paragraph in question described, she sighed again, and again started at the top of page 82. She was only a few sentences in when she heard quick, but heavy footsteps across the hallway, running down the stairs. She shook her head, convincing herself that it was probably Pete, grabbing a midnight snack.

An hour later, unable to start reading page 82 again, she abandoned Woolf’s writing for her bed, and fought against her imagination and her curiosity as she fell asleep.

 

 

The second night, Myka returned to her beloved chair, her warm cup of tea and one of her favorite books, and settled for another evening. She had decided it was, perhaps, not the time for _Orlando_. Hoping for a quick read before a good sleep, she had went back to another love of hers: theatre. She opened Goldoni’s _Arlecchino servitore di due padroni_ and indulged herself in the story of her beloved Beatrice.

She was halfway through the banquet scene when she heard, again, doors opening. She immediately dropped her book, rising up in her chair and turning her entire attention towards the sounds. When whispers rose, she walked to her door silently, only to hear a young woman’s voice.

“Careful, I don’t think she’s sleeping”

Myka identified it as Claudia as she patiently waited for an answer, hoping to learn who she was talking to.

After a few minutes, the agent suddenly realized how ridiculous she must seem; one ear to the door, barely breathing, spying on her colleagues – actually, they were friends, and she usually considered them as her family, she thought, ashamed of her behavior. She went back to her chair, grabbed her book and returned to the banquet, but the humor seemed to have vanished from the pages. She sighed as she decided to go to sleep, hoping she could stop being so intrigued by as little as doors opening and a few whispers.

 

 

 

On the third night, Myka didn’t even choose a book. She sat on the edge of her bed, her room filled with darkness as she patiently waited for the noises. Although a voice in her mind kept warning her that whatever was going on was probably none of her business, she could not refrain from wondering. From imagining. From worrying, too.

What she had heard the previous night had made its way through her mind and reached her heart. What if her friends were hiding something from her? Her birthday wasn’t coming up, so it was certain that she would not ruin any surprise if she found out what it was. It wouldn’t hurt them if she peeked in, so long as they didn’t know. _Yes_ , Myka repeated to herself, _it’s not going to hurt anyone, and then I can return to my books_.

When the first door opened, Myka felt a flash of guilt running through her heart and flushing her cheeks. Perhaps this was not a good idea after all.

“Darling, aren’t you forgetting something?”

H.G.’s voice created a panic in the brunette’s stomach. The knot twisted itself as she realized the inventor must’ve been right in front of Myka’s bedroom in this instant, whispering secrets she did not have access to. She felt ashamed of her spying once more as two footsteps walked down the staircase.

She did not know how long it took her to finally stand up and walk to her door. Inside her, two different wills waged a war against each other. One side was eager to find out what was behind all those secret meetings, across the hallway. The opposite side tempered her emotions, remembering her how insignificant the whole thing was. Surely, she was mature enough to let her friends have some privacy. Certainly, she was not the one to pry.

_Of course she wasn’t._

Then why was she opening the door of her room so slowly, as if she was scared the screeching noise of the hinges would be heard? And why was she walking down the stairs, carefully placing each foot exactly where the pressure of her weight would not trigger the old wood’s creaks?

She hated herself for being so childish, as she listened to the silence reigning over the bed and breakfast. Her beating heart almost burst out of her chest when a distant, familiar laugh reached her ears.

Pete.

She continued her journey through the dining room and through the kitchen, finally reaching the basement door. She stopped a few meters away, suddenly uncertain of what exactly she was expecting to find, or to do.

“Ohh, you are mine! MINE!”

The cheerful scream caused her to jump, as she had thought, for a second, that she had been caught. The voice had simply made its way up the stairs and she laughed at herself, embarrassed, standing alone in the darkened kitchen. Trying to slow her breathing, Myka remained perfectly still, hoping to find the strength to stop her spying, or, at the very least, to deduce what they were doing down there.

“Hmm… interesting. Shall I make my move, then?”

H.G.’s voice was tempered with amusement, and a little malice, maybe? Myka couldn’t decide. She took a slight step forward, as if it would allow her to hear more. Seconds passed, and all that reached her were some tiny, mysterious clicking sounds.

“What the – That’s not a legal, man. No way that’s legal.”

Pete’s complain brought a smile to Myka’s lips as she walked another step, her hand holding onto the door’s frame as she leaned against the wall.

“Are you questioning my methods again?”

Claudia’s laugh warmed Myka’s heart as she closed her eyes. It had been so long since she had heard her so cheerful, so full of life… Somehow, she regretted to intrude in such a moment, but a delicate sadness invaded her mind as she remembered that she hadn’t been invited there. Feeling rejected, she was contemplating leaving when she heard a loud thump.

“Dude, it’s totally okay. Stop being a cry-baby”

Myka smiled as the words reached her. Although she knew the sentences weren’t aimed at her, she still took it under advisement. Perhaps she, too, was acting a bit childish tonight.

“How dare you?”, Pete whined, but his tone suddenly changed. “Oh, hey hey hey! I got something for you… and BAM!”

Myka heard another thump, followed by several other clicking sounds. Curious once more, she took another step forward, walking down the first steps of the staircase. Back against the wall, she stretched her neck to see where the light downstairs was coming from. Noticing it appeared as though her friends were in the back room, she walked down a few more steps, confident she could get closer to them without getting caught.

“Oh, I have taught you well…”

The brunette’s heartbeat raced again as she listened to Helena’s warm voice.

“But perhaps not well enough.”

Another thump filled the silence, followed by what Myka could now identify as a camera taking several photographs one after the other. She definitely had no idea what was going on, especially when Claudia started cheering.

“And she wins again, ladies and gentlemen!”

“No way, no way! How did I not see that?”

At this point in their friendship, Myka had no need to see Pete’s face to know he was wearing that disappointed-little-boy frown she loved so much.

“As I have warned you many times, you stubbornly refuse to identify your own weaknesses”

The Englishwoman’s explanations were followed by a unique clap of hands, and Myka wondered if Claudia and H.G. had just high-fived each other. The thought sent another huge smile to her face as she listened to Pete’s whining.

“I identify my weaknesses, okay! But you are sneaky! Sneaky! What happened to honor?”

“This is not about honor, this is about strategy”

As they argued, the brunette couldn’t repress a small laughter from leaving her lips. How many times had she dreamt they would all get along like this again? After Leena’s death, everything had become so heavy between them all, they barely took the time to argue over stupid things anymore – and that was what they were best at, no doubt.

“Strategy-smoushery. You are a back-stabbing –”

“Hey, guys? Shut up.”

A suspicious silence fell over the basement.

“Yeah, ok. Sorry Claud’, really… we’re gonna stop fighting now.”

“And we are going to start working towards a common goal”

Myka realized, too late, that the voices were closer to her than they had been before. She jumped when the three agents stumbled out the door and discovered her, lingering down the stairs.

“Myka?”, H.G. asked, obviously amused.

“Hey! Hmm… well. Don’t mind me. I was just… you know… looking for some… canned tuna”, the brunette explained, grabbing the first thing she saw in the pantry beside her.

“Canned tuna? At midnight?”, Pete frowned as he hid his smile. He simply loved to see his partner so embarrassed; she was always so stubbornly holding onto her serious face, lately.

“Yeah. I’m hungry”, Myka tried to explain as Claudia crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. _Maybe this isn’t the best cover, after all_ , she thought.

“Darling, you are a terrible liar.”

H.G. grabbed the brunette’s hand and pulled her into the back room with a smile. Their fingers linked together for a few seconds before the Englishwoman let go.

“Tadam!”, Pete and Claudia yelled simultaneously as they followed the two women back inside the room.

“What’s this?”

In the middle of the room, a large table held what Myka could best describe as a battlefield. On the small scale town – which the brunette identified as a strange version of Univille – hundreds of little tin soldiers were scattered around. Upon a second look, she noticed small cannons, too, and was that a Godzilla figurine?

“The Battle of Univille”, Pete answered proudly.

“A historical event thoroughly documented by a courageous war journalist”, Claudia continued, holding onto the camera that hanged around her neck.

“So… that’s what you’ve been doing the last few days? Playing with toy soldiers?”, Myka’s question sounded more judgmental than she had originally intended, and she felt ashamed when she noticed a slight disappointment in Pete and Claudia’s eyes.

“It is the game of kings, darling”, H.G. replied with a kind and warm smile. “An emotional and intellectual test of sorts.”

Myka frowned as she stared once again at the battlefield.

“H.G. wrote the rules”, Claudia continued the explanation while she extended her hand towards the brunette, a small, old book gently held between two fingers. “I found it in the library the other day.”

The brunette grabbed the book, her cheeks blushing as she noticed all three agents were staring at her. _Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys’ games and books_ , Myka read with a smile.

“Well I doubt it includes rules on Godzilla figurines”, the brunette spoke as she thoroughly examined the battlefield once more. They had put a lot of effort in the construction of this model town, and she had to admit the details were impressive. Of course, they had added a few streets and buildings here and there, but overall, she could definitely see the resemblance with Univille.

“Emperor Pete refused to let go of his ‘secret weapon’”, H.G. explained with a laughter.

“Hey, it’s ‘Super Emperor Pete’ to you”

Helena laughed once again, and Myka felt a warm tremor running through her stomach as she looked at her fellow agent.

“Oh, you have nicknames too?”, the brunette asked, her eyes fixed on Helena. She couldn’t help but wonder what she called herself during those games. It was a playful side of her she had never truly seen before.

“Mine’s Pavlichenko”, Claudia proudly declared as she rose her camera once more.

“Because she shoots pictures like no one else!”, Pete cheered before sharing a high-five with the redhead.

“And what’s yours?”, Myka asked the Englishwoman with a shy smile.

“General H. G. W., of the Blue Army, at your service madam”, Helena answered before taking off an invisible hat and bowing in front of the brunette. She reached for Myka’s hand and place a soft kiss on its back before standing up again, proudly smiling as she noticed Myka’s cheeks flushed with desire.

“Nice to meet you, General”, the brunette replied with a slight stutter. “And to meet you too, Ms Pavlichenko”

She shook Claudia’s hand firmly before turning her attention towards Pete, who had raised his head and stared deeply at the ceiling.

“And you, Emperor”

The man cleared his throat and opened his mouth, but Myka did not let him start.

“ _Super_ Emperor Pete, of course. What was I thinking?” she added as she bowed down in front of him. He laid a hand on her shoulder before brushing a finger under her chin.

“Lower being, don’t be afraid to look at perfection”, he said with a deep, macho voice, his face crisped into a strange expression of fake gravity. _Probably from one of his movies_ , Myka thought. Before she could reply to the insult, a voice broke the silence.

“Are you guys still playing? It’s like two in the morning!”

Steve’s complaint was welcomed by a series of cheers from Pete and Claudia, who begged him to join them.

“Myka, I thought you would’ve stayed away from this nonsense…”, he continued as he was dragged through the room and forced to sit on the couch. “Seriously, I’m tired…”

Claudia and Pete insisted that he remain still as they grabbed several objects throughout the room and used them to dress him up into something that vaguely looked like a colonel.

“I believe Agent Jinks is wiser than us. It is terribly late…”, Helena spoke, immediately stopping the two agents in their tracks.

“Alright, alright”, they both agreed, reluctantly allowing Steve to stand up.

“Rematch tomorrow?”, Pete asked the Englishwoman, hope glistening in his eyes.

H.G. did not answer as she started walking towards the staircase. She turned around, one hand on the ramp, and winked to Myka before she spoke.

“Well, you have insulted a fair lady before my very eyes. It is my duty to save her honor in a duel.”

The inventor walked up a few steps as Pete and Claudia asked simultaneously;

“Tomorrow night?”

Helena sighed, but a large smile illuminated her face as she turned around once more.

“Yes, tomorrow night.”


End file.
